Cash drawer mechanism



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Aug. 25, 1948 FIG. I

9 9 8 9 9 5 0 O 8 8 l 8 4 .o w 4 4 3 m m n N mm 0 3 W 4 l n R 4 p M 1 NHn. -Hu in A X MA R x F 2 5 mm 9 w a m 3344 4 03 O0 44 w 9 V 9 3 3 l a 6W 8 a 3 3 His (Ittornegs Aug. 18, 1953 F, WERNER 2,649,246

CASH DRAWER MECHANISM Original Filed Aug. 25, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2FIG.2

l'mventor FRANK R WERNER a j; i BY His (Ittornegs Patented Aug. 18, 1953CASH DRAWER MECHANISM Frank R. Werner, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to TheNational Cash Register Company,

Dayton,

Ohio, a corporation of Maryland Original application August 25, 1948,Serial No. 46,165. Divided and this application December 22, 1949,Serial No. 134,553

4 Claims. (Cl. 235-22) This invention relates to improvements in cashdrawer release mechanism for cash registers and accounting machines.

This application is a division of application Serial No. 46,165, filedAugust 25, 1948.

The object of the invention is to provide a novel means forsimultaneously releasing a plurality of cash drawers, which cash drawersare normally selectively released under control of manipulative devicesof a cash register or accounting machine keyboard.

With this and incidental objects in View, the invention includes certainnovel features of construction and combinations of parts, a preferredform or embodiment of which is hereinafter described with reference tothe drawings which accompany and form a part of this specification.

Of said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a sectional View taken through a cash drawer cabinet, togetherwith a side View of the clerk's lever for selecting the cash drawer tobe released for operation.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the drawer release mechanism andillustrates the manually operable drawer release slide.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view showing the locking means for normallypreventing operation of the manually operable drawer release slide.

General description Cash registers and accounting machines are providedwith a keyboard including amount, transaction, and clerks manipulativedevices, the latter being in the form of either key banks or settinglevers. In such machines, a separate cash drawer is provided forreceiving the cash taken in by each clerk. For this reason, the clerkssetting means selects the cash drawer to be opened when a sale isregistered in the machine. The machine to which the present invention isshown applied is provided with a clerks lever, and therefore theinvention is i1- lustrated for use in a lever-set machine.

In normal operations of the machine, the clerks lever is set to aposition corresponding to the clerk making the entry of a sale. Thesetting of the clerks lever couples a latch-op crating means to unlatchthe corresponding clerks cash drawer upon operation of the machine. I

There are instances when the proprietor desires to open all the cashdrawers without operating the machine. To provide for such release ofthe cash drawer, a novel device comprising a manually operable slide isprovided, said slide coacting directly with the drawer latches whenoperated to release all the drawers simultaneously. This slide is underlock and key and is normally locked against operation. To release theslide for operation, the proprietor, having possession of a key, canunlock the manually operable slide for operation.

Detailed description The machine as illustrated herein is provided withfour cash drawers which are selected for release by a clerks lever Ill(Fig. 1), which lever is settable into four selecting positions, oneposition corresponding to each clerk. The lever ii? is pivotally mountedon a shaft 31, carried by the frames 30 and 3| of the machine.

The cash drawer cabinet 33 (Fig. 1) houses the four cash drawers 385,386, 381, and 388. One cash drawer is allotted for each of the fourclerks; that is, one for each of the four positions of the clerksselecting lever Ill. The cash drawers are suitably mounted on tracks onwhich rollers carried by the cash drawers run for each operation of thedrawers when the drawers are released to move out of the cabinet 33.Each cash drawer is impelled outwardly by a spring 389 when released.Normally, latches 390, 39!. 392, and 393 maintain the respective drawersin their inaccessible position. The latches 390, tel, 392, and 393 areselectively operated under control of the clerks selecting lever Ill.

-The latch 390 for the upper cash drawer is pivoted on a shaft 3% (seealso Fig. 2) carried by a bracket 395, supported in the top ofv thedrawer cabinet 33. The latch 33B is provided with an upwardly-extendingarm 396, which lies in the path of a rod 391 carried between the twoarms of a yoke 399 when the clerks selecting lever II! is in its upperposition. The yoke 399 is pivotally mounted on a shaft carried by arms4m and 4&2 of a yoke .83. The yoke 403 is pivotally mounted on a shaft404, supported in the side frames 36] and 3|. The arm 402 is providedwith a roller 465, which lies in the path of movement of a cam 466secured to a cam shaft I03.

When the machine is operated with the clerks selecting lever ill in itsuppermost position, the rod 39? moves into engagement with the arm 3% ofthe latch 396, to rock the latch 39B counter-clockwise to release theupper cash drawer. The rod 3s? is moved into engagement with the latch395! when the cam 436 is rotated and engages a roller 405 to rock theyoke dill! clockwise. Clockwise movement of the yoke 493 moves the yoke399, together with the rod 391, to the left (Fig. 1) to engage the arm396 of the latch 390 projecting into a slot 4l3 of a link 4l4,resi1iently held on the lower end of a rod 4l5 bya spring wound aroundthe latter. The rod" M is threaded to screw into an angle'piece 4-16pivotally connected to a bell crank M1 by a-stud4l9;

The bell crank 411 (see also Fig. 2) is pivoted-on the beforementionedshaft 394. The bell crank 4 I! extends upwardly and is provided with aface? 419, which lies in the path of the rod 3'9"! when the clerksselecting lever H1 is moved to its second position. The clerk'sselecting lever H t has pivoted thereto a link 429, the lower end ofwhich. is pivoted to the rod 391, by means of which the rod 39? ispositioned.

When the clerks selecting lever Ill is moved counter-clockwise into itssecond position (Fig. 1), the link 429 lifts the rod 391 into the pathof the face 419. Thereafter, during the machine operation, when the cam499rotates to rock the yoke 493 clockwise, the yoke 399, pulling on therod 391, rocksthe bell crank 4i! counter-clockwise to raise the rod M5and the latch 39!- to release the second cash drawer.

The third and fourth cash drawers 381 and 389- are provided with similarmechanisms for lifting the latches 392 and393. The latch 392 isconnected to a bell crank having a surface 42 l, a

and the latch 393 is connected to a bell crank having a surface 422. Asthe clerksselecting lever H! is moved into its third position, the rod391- is moved into alinement with the surface 42!, and, when the clerkslever ill is moved into its fourth position, the rod 391' is movedoppositethe surface 422. When the rod 39? en'- gages the'surface 421,the third cash'drawer 387 is released, and-when the rod 39! engages thesurface 422, the fourth cash drawer 383 is released by the mechanismincluding the earn 499 and the'yokes 493 and 399.

A manual release is provided for releasing all of the cash drawers whenthe proprietor wants to read the totalizers and check the cash in the 7cash drawers. For this purpose, a slide 339 (Fig. 2) is provided. Theslide 338 can be manually shifted to the right (Fig. 2) to'release allof the cash drawers in a manner presently described.

The slide 333 is provided with two slots 339, which engage studs 349,mounted on the top 33 of the 7 drawer cabinet. The right end 34! of theslide 338 is normally obstructed by a flange 342 mounted on a link 393,described later. The slide338 has formed thereon two cam surfaces 423.and. 424, which lie adjacent the bell cranks normally operated by therod 391' during ma-' piece 425, formed on the left end of the slide 338,Movement and shifts the slide 339't0 the right. of the slide 338 to theright causes the cam surfaces 423 and 424 to wipe against the rear endsof the drawer-releasing bell cranks, rocking themcounter-clockwise tolift all-of the latches 399,

When the flange 342 is out of the path 4 39 l, 392, and 393, thusreleasing the cash drawers without operating the machine.

Control lock The machine of the instant invention is provided with acontrol lock 299 (Fig. 3) which controls the operations of the machine;-that is, the operations of reading of the totalizer wheels,

' locking of the machine, and release of the cash drawers. The lock hasthree positions of adjustmen-t; When the lock is in intermediateposition, the machine can be operated for entering items. When the lockis turned ninety degrees in a clockwise direction from the intermediateposition, the machine release mechanism is locked against operation, andthe manual drawer release" mechanism is unlocked. When the lock isturned counter-clockwise ninety degrees from the intermediate positioninto the position shown in Fig. 3, the machine is locked against anyoperation.

The control lock 299 (Fig. 3) is mounted in a bracket 29l on the rightside frame 39. An insertable key 292 controls the various functions ofthe machine described above. When the key 292 is in either its verticalposition, or in its counter-clockwise horizontal position, the flange3'42 obstructs shifting movement of the slide 338-. However, when thekey 292 is rotated into its extreme clockwise position, a pin 293 on thelock 299, engaging the cam slot 399, rocks a bell crank 39] on the stud392 clockwise to shift a link 393 to the left (Fig. l). The left-handend of the link 393 is pivoted to an arm 399 on the shaft I93. Leftwardmovement of the link 393 removes the flange 342 from the path of theright-hand end 34E of the slide 338, thus permitting the proprietor toshift the slide 333 to the right (Fig. 3) to release all the cashdrawers.

While the form of mechanism shown and described herein is admirablyadapted to fulfill the object primarily stated, it is to be understoodthat it is not intended to confine the invention to the one form orembodiment disclosed herein, for it is susceptible of embodiment invarious other forms.

What is claimed is:

1 In a machine of the class described, a pluralityof cash drawers, aseparately controlled latching means, including a pivoted member, foreach cash drawer, means to select the latching means for operation,power-operated means to actuate the selected latching means duringamachine operation whereby the cash drawers may be selectively renderedaccessible in combi'nation with a unitary slide, cam means on the slideadjacent-the pivoted members of the latching means, and a finger pieceon the slide whereby the slide may be actuated to manually cause thecammeans to actuate all of said pivoted members and thereby operate allof said latching means to simultaneously render the plurality of cashdrawers accessible while the machine is at rest. I

2. In a machine of the class described, a plurality of cash drawers, amanipulative device settable to a plurality of positions, a separatelatching means, including a pivoted lever, for each cash drawer, meansdifferentially settable by the manipulative device to select thelatching means for operation, power-operated means to actuate theselected latching means during a machine operation to selectively renderthe cash drawers accessible, in combination with a unitary slide, cammeans on the slide adjacent the pivoted levers of the latching means, afinger piece on said slide to facilitate operating the slide to manuallycause the cam means to actuate all the pivoted pawls and thereby operateall of the latching means simultaneously to render all the cash drawersaccessible while the machine is at rest, a locking means to normallyprevent operating the slide, and a manipulative device to render thelocking means ineffective.

3. In a machine of the class described, the com bination of a pluralityof cash drawers; a latch normally latching each cash drawer ininaccessible position; a plurality of latch-operating means, one of saidlatch-operating means connected to each latch, each operating meansincluding a pivoted lever, said levers extending different lengths fromtheir pivoted points; a difierentially positionable operating member; amanipulative device connected to the operating member and movable toposition the operating member adjacent a selected one of said levers; apower-operated means to move the operating member into contact with andthereafter operate the selected one of the levers whereby a selecteddrawer latch is actuated to release the selected drawer to render thedrawer accessible; a manually-operable member adjacent all the levers;and cam means on the member to actuate all the levers upon manualoperation of the member to actuate all said latches to simultaneouslyopen all the cash drawers While the power-operated means is at rest.

4. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a pluralityof cash drawers; a latch normally latching each cash drawer ininaccessible position; a plurality of latch-operating means, one of saidlatch-operating means connected to each latch, each operating meansincluding a pivoted lever, said levers extending difierent lengths fromtheir pivoted points; a

, the operating member may receive said differential setting, whilebeing adjusted in one direction by the manipulative device, and saidoperating member being movable by the poweroperated means in anotherdirection to operate the selected one of the said levers whereby aselected drawer latch is actuated to release the selected drawer torender the drawer accessible; a manually-operable member adjacent allthe levers; and cam means on the member to actuate all the levers uponmanual operation of the member to actuate all said latches tosimultaneously open all the cash drawers while the power-operated meansis at rest.

FRANK R. WERNER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 540,289 Yoho June 4, 1895 861,839 Heinitz July 30, 19071,520,727 Sippert Dec. 30, 1924 1,583,853 Neth May 11, 1926 1,930,434Sherman et al Oct. 10, 1933 1,951,628 Prost Mar. 20, 1934 1,984,185Gustavson Dec. 11, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 257,431Germany Mar. 7, 1913

